Apache APISIX vs Envoy Gateway

Apache APISIX8.7Visit Envoy Gateway8.6Visit

Higher score Apache APISIX #7 in Kubernetes Ingress Controllers 8.7/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 0 of 5 features Visit Apache APISIX

vs

Envoy Gateway #8 in Kubernetes Ingress Controllers 8.6/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 0 of 5 features Visit Envoy Gateway

• Apache APISIX fits best

  Open-source API gateway and ingress teams

• Envoy Gateway fits best

  Gateway API-first Kubernetes teams

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Side by side

Feature	Apache APISIX 8.7/10 Visit ↗	Envoy Gateway 8.6/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	8.7	8.6
Ranking	#7 in Kubernetes Ingress Controllers	#8 in Kubernetes Ingress Controllers
Best for	Open-source API gateway and ingress teams	Gateway API-first Kubernetes teams
Pricing model	Free	Free
Starting price	Free plan	Free plan
Free plan	✓	✓
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Self-hosted	Self-hosted
Support	Community, Docs	Community, Docs
Integrations	5 integrations	2 integrations
Built for	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Apache APISIX 0/5 · Envoy Gateway 0/5
TLS automation	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Canary routing	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Rate limiting	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Web application firewall	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Auth policies	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Specs
Ingress API model	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Deployment model	Self-hosted	Self-hosted
Our review
Pros	Kubernetes Ingress and Gateway API integration 100+ gateway and AI plugins plus a built-in Dashboard UI Supports HTTP, gRPC, MQTT, WebSocket, TCP, UDP, and HTTP/3	Routes HTTP, gRPC, TLS, TCP, and UDP traffic Supports JWT, API key, Basic Auth, OIDC, and mutual TLS Combines rate limiting, transformations, retries, and traffic splitting
Cons	Self-hosted deployment requires infrastructure ownership Broad capabilities can increase configuration and governance effort Not designed for teams seeking a fully managed ingress service	Self-hosted deployment requires teams to manage the environment Its documented ecosystem centers on Kubernetes Gateway API and Envoy Proxy Configuration spans Gateway API resources and Envoy Gateway custom resources
Our verdict	Apache APISIX is an open-source API and AI gateway for teams operating Kubernetes environments, APIs, microservices, and multi-protocol traffic. It combines dynamic routing, load balancing, authentication, configurable rate limiting,… Read the review →	Envoy Gateway is an open-source API gateway and reverse-proxy control plane for managing Envoy Proxy in Kubernetes or standalone gateway environments. It is aimed at platform teams and engineers responsible for APIs, ingress traffic,… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• Apache APISIX — where it wins

  • Kubernetes Ingress and Gateway API integration
  • 100+ gateway and AI plugins plus a built-in Dashboard UI
  • Supports HTTP, gRPC, MQTT, WebSocket, TCP, UDP, and HTTP/3

  Where it doesn't

  • Self-hosted deployment requires infrastructure ownership
  • Broad capabilities can increase configuration and governance effort
  • Not designed for teams seeking a fully managed ingress service

• Envoy Gateway — where it wins

  • Routes HTTP, gRPC, TLS, TCP, and UDP traffic
  • Supports JWT, API key, Basic Auth, OIDC, and mutual TLS
  • Combines rate limiting, transformations, retries, and traffic splitting

  Where it doesn't

  • Self-hosted deployment requires teams to manage the environment
  • Its documented ecosystem centers on Kubernetes Gateway API and Envoy Proxy
  • Configuration spans Gateway API resources and Envoy Gateway custom resources

• Apache APISIX8.7/10 · Free plan

  A self-hosted Kubernetes gateway with broad protocol support and an extensive plugin ecosystem.

  Visit Apache APISIXFull verdict →
• Envoy Gateway8.6/10 · Free plan

  A broad, Gateway API-first control plane for self-hosted Kubernetes traffic management.

  Visit Envoy GatewayFull verdict →